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India's legendary pacer Sunil Gavaskar has warned Suryakumar Yadav's brigade of England's in-form all-rounder Will Jacks who has won four 'Player of the match' awards in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 already. Gavaskar feels Jacks can have a similar impact to that of India's Shivam Dube in the semifinal clash at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on March 5. As many teams have used off-spin against India, Jacks can come in handy as well. Gavaskar feels the likes of Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya should take the responsibility to tackle him.
“If there is a little bit of turn, he could be a handful. How (Sanju) Samson, Suryakumar Yadav or Hardik Pandya handle him will be key. He is on a roll. To have someone like him at No. 7 is a real plus — just like Shivam Dube was for India the other day,” Gavaskar said.
Jacks’ unmatched impact
Jacks has contributed with plenty of cameos in the edition. Most recently, he rescued them against New Zealand with an unbeaten 32 off just 18 balls. He was impressive in the low-scoring clash against Sri Lanka. After a cameo with the bat, he claimed three key wickets to derail co-hosts' run chase in Pallekele.
Jacks has experience of playing at Wankhede Stadium as he represents Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the mega auction. However, he is yet to play a T20I against India. It makes him a double-edged sword for both the teams in the knockout encounter.
Gavaskar expects thriller in Mumbai
Gavaskar expects the India-England to be a closely-fought contest like the one against West Indies. He feels that the two sides are evenly-matched.
“It’s going to be another cracker, like the (virtual) quarterfinal against West Indies. Both sides are very well matched. They have batting, bowling, middle order, finishers. Both have variety and plenty of T20 experience,” the 76-year-old added.
India don’t have a brilliant semifinal record at Wankhede Stadium. In ODI World Cup 1987, India lost to England. In the T20 World Cup 2016, India lost to West Indies in the semifinal. But, the Indian team has happy memories at the venue as well. They won the ODI World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Gavaskar believes the previous record won't play on the current team's mind as he expects them to progress to the final.
“It’s a new era, a new team. I believe India has the capability to go all the way to the final in Ahmedabad,” he said.
This will be the third consecutive instance of India facing England in a T20 World Cup semifinal. Both teams have gotten better of each other. It will be interesting to see if India edge past England for the second time in a row or not.
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